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I was flying from the Washington, D.C. area to Atlanta, GA. I am always attentive due to my anxiety when flying, observing every little thing. This particular flight was a little more turbulent than most I had experienced. Nevertheless, the bumpy flight continued, and we eventually landed. The flight attendant welcomed us to Atlanta, then proceeded to congratulate the captain on his first commercial flight. Passengers in the cabin cheered.

As an entrepreneur, leadership development coach and educational leader, I didn't have the luxury of going through my "firsts" without others knowing about it beforehand. Undoubtedly, the captain had trained for this very day, logged all his flight hours and passed the required assessments, yet even then, the first flight was not as "smooth" as it could have been. Nevertheless, there was an experienced co-pilot right beside him for the entire flight who helped along the way.

Emerging entrepreneurs can benefit from this same type of mentoring and coaching as they begin their journey into entrepreneurship. While you may still experience bumps in the road and a little turbulence, having a knowledgeable guide next to you could help avoid major pitfalls. So how do you know which one you need?

Mentoring Versus Coaching

I have served both in a mentoring role as well as a coaching role to entrepreneurs, authors and educators. While there are some similar elements, there are definitely characteristics unique to each role.

Coaching is task-oriented while mentoring is relationship-oriented. Coaching is driven by performance while mentoring is driven by development. Your mentor will provide you answers to questions and ensure you get a more expansive view of your potential.

A coach's approach is different. A mentor's agenda is derived from the immediate needs of the mentee. A coach has a more structured approach, and there are prepared, specific topics to address.

Mentoring

The mentor/mentee relationship should be reciprocal and form a true partnership. The exchange of information should be a two-way street and benefit both parties. While the mentor may have the knowledge and experience, the mentee can bring innovative ideas to the table. There should be an established level of commitment and a clear understanding of the expectations.

It's important that there is a strong fit. I have found it's advantageous to have more than one mentor to address the different facets of your business. For example, a mentor who helps you strategically plan and scale your business may not be the same person who mentors you through branding and marketing. Seek different viewpoints and individuals with different expertise to diversify your mentoring. For out-of-the-box ideas, one of your mentors should be in your industry and another should be outside of it.

Coaching

Coaches instruct, assess and monitor. Their primary objective is to assist their client in developing their own solutions and ideas.

For example, as a coach, I utilize Sir John Whitmore's GROW Model, from his book, Coaching for Performance. GROW stands for Goals, Reality, Options and Will.

With the help of your coach, you'll establish goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, risky, time-bound, exciting and relevant (SMARTER). You'll then seek additional awareness of what is actually happening in your world as an entrepreneur. What is your reality? After this understanding, you can proceed to possible next steps or options. The last step in the GROW Model is will. What is your commitment as a client? What will you do? You'll establish an action plan based on these steps.

Although that flight from the Washington, D.C. area to Atlanta was a little unnerving, we landed safely. It's the same with your business. You will have some turbulent times, you will make mistakes, but you can seek someone to help you course correct. Mentoring is relational and coaching is functional. Which do you need?